By: Staff Writer
June 7, 2024
The Russian Federation will send naval ships and military aircraft to the Caribbean in what reports are saying is the first of its kind under the Biden administration era, but not something that is uncommon.
The exercises, which will involve Russian warships and long-range bombers, will be the first simultaneous air and naval maneuvers Russia has conducted in the Caribbean since 2019. The U.S. is interpreting them as a response to American support for Ukraine and stepped-up U.S. exercises with NATO allies.
The ships also are expected possibly to make port calls in Venezuela and Cuba, as Russia establishes a Western Hemisphere military presence that the senior Biden administration officials said was notable but not concerning. The exercise, which will be monitored by the U.S. military, will involve a “handful” of Russian ships and support vessels, the two officials said.
It’s not the first time Russia has sent its ships to the Caribbean. This exercise, however, is taking place as Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could take “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has not publicly announced plans to hold naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea in the coming weeks.
“These actions will culminate in a global Russian naval exercise this fall,” a U.S. official was quoted as saying in the Moscow Times.
Russia is also seeking to project its naval power around the world after suffering losses in the Black Sea during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the officials added.
Last week, the U.S. cleared Ukraine to use the weapons on the Russian side of the border near the besieged Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The Biden administration narrowly tailored the U.S. permission to the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation and restricted the use of the weapons to targeting Russian artillery sites and other weaponry aimed at them around Kharkiv. The Ukrainians are still not permitted to use U.S.-provided long-range equipment, such as the ATACMs, to hit Russia beyond that point, in order to avoid the perception of a direct U.S. escalation with Russia.